Chapter 260

Evening.

With the takeout arrived, so did Tang Jia, following inside.

Tang Jia had changed into casual clothes; watching the delivery person set down the food boxes and leave without closing the door, she smiled: "Dr. Jiang, takeout is too unhealthy. Let me treat you to dinner."

"No need. I'll just eat something light." Jiang Yuan refused bluntly.

Tang Jia pursed her lips and said: "New update: the suspect in Case 513, Qi Yongbin, has confessed."

Jiang Yuan clicked his tongue twice, glancing at her in surprise: "You're that well-informed?"

"Want to know Qi Yongbin's motive for the crime?" Tang Jia, having reviewed the case, knew this would catch Jiang Yuan's attention.

Jiang Yuan hesitated briefly, then, without mentioning that Wan Baoming would notify him anyway, said plainly: "Yes."

Tang Jia didn't drag it out anymore; she smiled and said: "To be honest, it's simple—jealousy."

"Jealous of what?"

"Jealous that the victim had a good life, jealous that he had a pension, jealous that his son had a successful job and earned money." As she spoke, Tang Jia walked to the table and began unpacking Jiang Yuan's takeout.

"Thank you." Jiang Yuan nodded, unsurprised.

Tang Jia smiled, taking each takeout box from the bag and placing them on the table: "I thought you'd come to Changyang, so I ordered some local specialties for you…"

As she spoke, she lifted the top box, revealing a abalone larger than a fist.

"Dried abalone? You ordered dried abalone for takeout?" Tang Jia, an expert, recognized it at a glance.

Jiang Yuan felt like she was accusing him of illegal trade.

When a beautiful woman emphasizes something like this in a special tone, you must deny it.

So Jiang Yuan retorted: "They sold dried abalone first—I just bought it."

"Expensive?" Tang Jia sized Jiang Yuan up and down.

"Over two thousand. Discounted." Jiang Yuan said.

"Two thousand per abalone… you got ripped off. You can't possibly expense this—your team leader might grit his teeth and accept it, but he'll still call you in for a talk."

"I paid out of pocket. My dad said after solving a case, you must treat yourself well." Jiang Yuan continued unpacking: another identical abalone, then a dish of greens, a meat dish, and finally a large clay pot filled halfway with salted pork congee.

Tang Jia stared at Jiang Yuan, then said flatly: "You eat two abalones? You'd be better off hiring two girls—still have enough left over for breakfast porridge tomorrow."

She'd dropped her affected voice; now she sounded almost harsh.

Jiang Yuan finally snapped to attention, glancing at her in surprise: "You're familiar with this?"

Tang Jia snorted: "I've arrested more pimps as an undercover than you've ever seen girls."

She crossed her arms, shifted her slim leg, and suddenly radiated authority.

She was done pretending.

Jiang Yuan thought: someone who's done undercover work really is different—she switched tactics instantly when the situation changed.

Indeed, this version of Tang Jia was far easier to cooperate with.

Jiang Yuan had no desire to flirt with female officers in the higher police departments, only to end up with nothing but trouble.

He needed a competent officer—capable in investigations, with decent social skills.

Unfortunately, Tang Jia had chosen the wrong path from the start; Jiang Yuan had no intention of giving her another chance. He said directly: "While I'm in Changyang, I'll be working under Director Wan and Team Leader Wang."

Team Leader Wang was Wang Chuanxing, with "Team Leader" added out of respect.

For county police officers, arriving in the provincial capital meant everyone was a superior.

"But I have a suitable case to offer," Tang Jia emphasized.

Jiang Yuan sat down calmly and said: "I'm about to eat."

Cases didn't belong to any one person, and his message was clear enough.

Tang Jia glanced at him, smirked, and turned to leave.

For someone capable, wealthy, and good-looking, she didn't even bother pretending anymore.

At least, the affected voice was useless.

…

Jiang Yuan ate his dinner leisurely.

The takeout abalone was South African network abalone—slightly inferior to Japanese network abalone, but still expertly slow-cooked for seven days. Besides, if you're eating takeout, you can't be too picky.

Pouring the abalone sauce over rice, slicing the abalone meat, adding some vegetables—it felt especially healthy, strangely peaceful.

The Changyang City Criminal Investigation Brigade was probably much the same.

In fact, the moment Tang Jia mentioned she had a suitable case, Jiang Yuan no longer cared.

Frankly, at her age, she couldn't possibly possess a major case known only to her and no one else.

Since she claimed to have a suitable case, Jiang Yuan trusted others would bring it forward too.

Assuming there weren't too many cases.

In truth, Jiang Yuan believed there would be plenty to choose from.

This was the provincial capital of Shannan.

A big city where people died every day.

In Changyang, each district recorded over 200 unnatural deaths annually; diligent forensic teams performed over twenty autopsies.

There were countless murders, and unsolved cases were inevitable.

Jiang Yuan finished his dinner calmly, then curled up on the sofa playing his phone until he fell asleep naturally.

…

The next day.

Jiang Yuan arrived at the Criminal Investigation Brigade just before noon.

Entering the same conference room from the day before, he saw the sign on the door had changed to "Unsolved Cases Task Force."

Jiang Yuan smiled, knocked, and entered.

Inside, the first thing that struck him was the group of tired, dark-faced officers—clearly suffering from sleep deprivation.

Wan Baoming, however, looked energetic: "Jiang Yuan, take a look at the cases we've screened."

"Just assign the task directly," Jiang Yuan said, though late, his attitude was impeccable.

Wan Baoming smiled, pleased: "Still, review them. The priority levels are nearly equal—take a look and pick one where you feel you can best demonstrate your skills."

"Which case has the clearest, most complete crime scene photos?" Jiang Yuan had finished being polite and now shifted into work mode.

Soon, his tone grew blunt:

"Get the case file…"

"Find the witness statements…"

"Where's the forensic report?"

The officers in the room were initially unsettled, but quickly adapted.

Cops all have rough tempers—cases breed aggression, and solving them is inherently unpleasant.

A person's optimal working state occurs when their ability slightly exceeds the workload; flow states emerge most easily under such conditions.

But solving crimes is an unrefined job.

Killers don't kill in comfortable ways, and colleagues all have their own judgments and ideas.

Especially with cold cases, the normal, easy paths are almost always blocked—if they weren't, the officers handling the original case would've solved it already.

And taking unconventional routes: some can adapt, but most cannot.

At this point, the lead officer grows anxious—and forces others to grow anxious too.

"Let's start with this case," Jiang Yuan placed the first case file beside him.

Wan Baoming was surprised: "Just this one? Don't you want to review more?"

Jiang Yuan said: "No need. If this one's doable, start with it. The others can wait."

Wan Baoming nodded to someone beside him; immediately, the case was projected onto the screen.

A detective involved in the case stood up: "This is a two-year-old case. Victim: young female, 25, a graduate student. Her body was found in her rented apartment—no signs of struggle, no disturbance, lock intact."

"One thousand milliliters of blood in the abdominal cavity; a 2. ×0. cm wound on the right little finger's hypothenar eminence… toxicology detected no common sedatives or drugs."

"Multiple bloodstains at the scene, but no weapon found. Preliminary suspicion: a crime of passion. The task force investigated the victim's social circle but found no suspect matching the profile."

The case was old.

The detective gave a brief summary and sat down.

Everyone in the room stared expectantly at Jiang Yuan.

"Start with crime scene reconstruction," Jiang Yuan said. Most detectives, facing a murder, begin by investigating relationships.

The reason is simple: if someone reaches the point of murder, there's been intense emotional upheaval—even if outsiders see no justification, to the perpetrator, it mattered.

In such cases, investigating relationships is a straightforward path.

Jiang Yuan bypassed it entirely and began reconstructing the scene on the spot.

A bedroom, a few pools of blood, scattered blood spots.

The sparse bloodstains didn't match typical blood pattern analysis—but Jiang Yuan stared at those spots, lost in thought.